Brickyard Partners Inc. is an innovation and execution agency.
We think. Then we do.

We help businesses unlock their core purpose, solve tough communication and business problems, and generate innovations that are ready to succeed in the real world. Then we partner with specialist agencies from around the globe to bring these new products and services all the way to success in the market.

Two key truths that make our approach unique and effective:



1. Don't start with the answer: We focus on defining the right problem, not a pre-determined output. Give an advertising agency a $250,000 budget and they, miraculously, will spend it all on advertising. The same is true for almost any specialist agency you hire. But the whole system stays broken and you are continually paying for it.
Let's change that, together.

2. Compensation should be connected to success instead of delivery: Innovation has no value until it "moves the needle" for your business. That is why we connect up to half of our fees to the measurable success of our work. Organizations that want to realize big change need partners who have some skin in the game and who realize the difference between generating ideas and generating ideas that can make money right now.  

So, how do we begin? Every engagement starts with what we call a perspective session.  This half-day lab allows us to learn your challenges and opportunities while you get a healthy sampling of our approach and thinking.  You come away with a number of fresh ways to unlock new value and we both get to know each other a bit before partnering on a larger project.

Our work is varied. Over the years it has included marketing programs, new sales processes, business turnarounds, Web strategy and design, new product/service development, supply chain solutions, business development, and mergers/acquisitions.

Some of the clients we have had the privilege of working with: GE, Fox Searchlight, Apple Metro Inc., Microsoft, Fox Mobile, Beck's North America, BCL Wealth Management, Pirelli Tire, Coca-Cola, GlaxoSmithKline, VideoEgg, Standard Bank, and many more remarkable businesses of all sizes. 



And their first step was simply to say hello.

Prior to founding Brickyard Partners in 2001, Mann was the President of a premier customs broker and international freight forwarder with six U.S. offices and represented a network of over 40 agents worldwide.

In addition to his strategy and execution work, Mann works with a select group of entrepreneurs, business owners and executive teams. His highly focused workshops and keynotes help executive teams take aggressive action to unlock the true potential of their organizations and build businesses that endure. In good times and bad. Online and off.

"The basics required to build a great business have never gone out of style and never will."

Howard is a sought after speaker both in the U.S. and around the world. He writes frequently on his blog about the importance of the basics and reconnecting to the passion that too often gets lost as businesses mature.

“To call Your Business Brickyard a 'bible' would not be an exaggeration. Doesn't belong on your Kindle or bookshelf - belongs in your pocket for permanent and immediate reference.”

Tom Peters, Author of The Little BIG Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE.

This small book contains the secret basics to unlock the true power and potential of your business. The basics. That’s what you lost when you went from feeling like making your mark to just keeping up and surviving.

It’s time to admit you’re not having fun anymore. It’s ok to say it. Only then can you find your way back to the beginning—when your business was all promise and no misery. Only then can you build (and innovate on top of) the basics that will never let you down.

Howard Mann has collected twelve essentials to any business foundation. Mann shows you how to get back to basics, reconnect with your purpose, and grow your business, instead of getting stuck following the latest trend or "Me too" fad.

Most important of all, Your Business Brickyard provides a game plan for how to make your business fun to run again.

Download the Goaljumping worksheets mentioned in the book.

“Never has so much business wisdom been packed into so few pages. My advice is to slip a copy of Your Business Brickyard into your brief case and carry it with you wherever you go — for those moments when business seems hopelessly complicated and confusing.”

Bo Burlingham, Editor-at-large of Inc. magazine and the author of Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead of Big

“When you’re at an entrepreneurial roadblock, this is the book you need to reboot your thinking and get you back on the right road.”

Andy Sernovitz, Author, Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking

Download, read and share the complete book as a FREE PDF.

DO YOU WANT, YET ANOTHER, MOTIVATIONAL TALK THAT IS FORGOTTEN IN A DAY?
OR REAL WORLD STRATEGIES AND TACTICS THAT WILL IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS FOREVER?

Motivational because they are so practical, Howard’s talks have been described as a one on one mentoring session regardless of the size of the crowd. Howard uses his real-world experiences and stories, his passion for extraordinary businesses, and a healthy splash of humor to help organizations and their leaders get back to the basics, reconnect to their true purpose, and walk away with rock solid tools and strategies they can put to work that day.

Businesses are getting lost trying to play catch up and match their competition instead of unlocking what they do better than anyone else. One audience member at a time, Howard aims to change that by reconnecting them with the basics of business that are too often lost as businesses mature. Getting back to the basics brings confidence and control back to the business, regardless of competitors, trends and fads, or even a business’ speed of growth.

Core concepts include any or all of the topics covered in his book or larger themes about the power and benefits that are realized in marketing, sales, operations and profitability when you reconnect to your purpose and execute your basics with perfection.

KEYNOTE: YOUR BUSINESS BRICKYARD

Businesses that master their basics survive and thrive in good times and bad. Complexity is your enemy and you need to get rid of it NOW. Based on his book, Your Business Brickyard, Howard Mann takes you through basic business "practice drills" that will help you step back from the blur of the day-to-day. Sharing his real-world business ownership experiences, both good and bad, Howard helps you form a plan of action to reset your business foundations. You will learn how to grow your business by focusing on the day to day strategies that get results in the real world. Part workshop, part inspiration and all action, Your Business Brickyard presentations have been called the reset button for honest business people everywhere.

KEYNOTE: UNLOCK YOUR PURPOSE

If you do not have a purpose you do not have a business. That strong premise is at the heart of this talk. A clear and driving purpose is that elusive "secret sauce" businesses and marketers crave but too few realize. Howard takes his audience through the steps needed to identify a true purpose, how it is far stronger than a tagline or mission statement, how it will energize your entire team and how it makes your business truly unique in the marketplace. It’s about the power of passion, focus and how every organization MUST communicate what it does better than anyone else in order to thrive.

Brickyard Partners Inc.
430 SW 13th Avenue - Suite 2105
Portland, OR 97205

Tel: (866) 413-5858

hello@brickyardpartners.com